Marvel: Empire of Power-Chapter 135 - 134: A Capital Ablaze, a Savior’s Shadow, and the Praetorian Dawn

Washington D.C. was a Boschian hellscape. Apocalypse's Horseman, War (the pyrokinetic Soviet General Volkov), had turned the heart of American democracy into an inferno. Flames licked at the Washington Monument. The Reflecting Pool boiled. Government-backed Mark I Sentinels, humanity's supposed answer to the mutant threat, lay as twisted, smoking wreckage, swatted aside by War's contemptuous strength. Captain America, Steve Rogers, fought with the desperate courage of a cornered lion, his vibranium shield absorbing impossible heat, his super-soldier physique pushed to its absolute limit against a foe who was his physical superior and wielded the very essence of destructive fire. He was buying time, but it was a currency rapidly running out. S.H.I.E.L.D. forces were in disarray, their conventional weaponry useless.

Elias Thorne, monitoring the battle from his Sanctum Umbra through a network of Blackwood news drones (ostensibly covering the "mutant terrorist attack" for global media, but actually feeding him real-time tactical data) and Anya Petrova's panicked but precise ground reports (Anya was in D.C., coordinating "Mr. Blanchard's" humanitarian relief efforts, a perfect cover for intelligence gathering), knew the moment was ripe. The failure of the government Sentinels was public, spectacular. Captain America's heroism was undeniable, but so was his impending defeat. Humanity needed a savior, and Elias was about to provide one, on his own terms.

"Thomas," Elias's calm voice cut through the chaos on their secure channels. "Deploy Adamantium Guard – Praetorian Cohort One. Legionnaire Primus Marcus Nox, Secundus David Technopath, and Tertius Dubois Inferno will lead the initial insertion. Their objective: neutralize Horseman War, secure Captain America, minimize civilian casualties. Show the world what true protection looks like."

He had enough Prime Essence Shards from Pestilence's capture ([4.0/5.0]) for one more Tier 3 Legionnaire from scratch, or for a significant upgrade to an existing asset, but now was not the time for internal development. Now was the time for a public demonstration of power.

From a cloaked, high-altitude Blackwood aerospace transport – the Aegis, O'Malley's latest masterpiece – three figures descended upon Washington D.C. not in grav-chutes or drop pods, but encased in individual, shimmering fields of controlled kinetic energy, like golden comets streaking through the smoke-filled sky. They landed with pinpoint precision on the debris-strewn National Mall, directly between a faltering Captain America and the triumphant, fire-wreathed Horseman War.

The impact of their arrival was a psychic shockwave. Marcus "Nox" Thorne, his Klyntar symbiote a rippling black void against the inferno, his golden eyes burning with cosmic power. David "Technopath" Secundus, intricate lines of energy already mapping the battlefield, his mind a nexus of data and tactical calculations. Jean-Paul "Inferno" Dubois, his Legionnaire form radiating an internal heat that challenged War's own flames, his energy gauntlets crackling. They were demigods, radiating an aura of absolute power and unwavering purpose.

Captain America, battered and exhausted, stared in stunned disbelief. These were not S.H.I.E.L.D. These were not any known Allied assets. They were... something else. Something terrifyingly powerful.

War (Volkov) paused in his advance, his fiery gaze narrowing on these new arrivals. He sensed power here that dwarfed the "star-spangled gnat" he had been toying with. "More insects for the burning?" he roared, unleashing a torrent of incandescent plasma.

Nox didn't even flinch. His Klyntar symbiote flowed, forming a massive, obsidian shield that absorbed the plasma blast, the alien material hissing and steaming but holding firm. "Your fire is... unrefined, Herald," Nox's chorus-voice echoed, calm and utterly unimpressed.

Then, they moved. It wasn't a battle; it was a dismantling.

David Technopath unleashed a focused EMP pulse that momentarily scrambled War's crude pyrokinetic control implants (Apocalypse's augmentations were powerful but often relied on a fusion of mutant power and Celestial technology). Simultaneously, Dubois Inferno, his own body now wreathed in controlled, blue-white Legionnaire fire (a manifestation of his energy channeling tailored to counter pyrokinesis), met War's charge head-on, his energy gauntlets deflecting and absorbing the Horseman's flames, his Legionnaire strength a match for War's augmented physique.

Nox, meanwhile, moved with impossible speed, his symbiotic tendrils lashing out, not to kill, but to dissect. He targeted the Celestial tech components integrated into Volkov's armor, ripping them free with surgical precision, while simultaneously delivering focused psionic blows that bypassed physical defenses and struck at Volkov's mind, already strained by Apocalypse's domination.

Captain America, watching this unfold, felt a mixture of awe, relief, and a profound, unsettling fear. These beings... they fought with a power and precision he had only dreamed of, against a foe that had nearly killed him. But who were they? And what was their agenda?

War, his pyrokinetic powers sputtering, his Celestial tech failing, his mind reeling, roared in frustration and pain. He was a demigod of destruction, yet against these three, he was being systematically, almost contemptuously, deconstructed.

Finally, Nox, seeing an opening, formed a massive, symbiotic fist and delivered a single, devastating blow to Volkov's head. The Horseman of War collapsed, unconscious, his flames extinguished, his augmented form twitching. The entire engagement had lasted less than three minutes.

[APOCALYPSE HORSEMAN (WAR/VOLKOV) – NEUTRALIZED BY LEGIONNAIRE COHORT (NOX/TECHNOPATH/INFERNO). CELESTIAL AUGMENTATION TECHNOLOGY PARTIALLY SECURED/ANALYZED BY NOX. Captain America (Steve Rogers) – Indirectly Assisted/Secured from Immediate Threat.]

Elias, observing remotely, allowed a ghost of a smile. The public debut of his True Legionnaires had been a spectacular success. He immediately authorized O'Malley to release carefully edited footage of the Legionnaires' "intervention" (omitting their more esoteric abilities and any clear identifying marks) to select, easily influenced international news outlets, framing them as a "new, highly advanced, international peacekeeping force dedicated to combating catastrophic superhuman threats where conventional forces fail." The "Thorne Ascendancy" was not mentioned. For now, they would be a mystery, a powerful, anonymous savior.

Marcus Nox Thorne approached Captain America, who was warily getting to his feet, his shield still raised. "Captain Rogers," Nox's voice was calm, respectful, yet undeniably authoritative. "You fought bravely. But this enemy is beyond your current means. We have... contained the immediate threat. Our mandate is global superhuman stabilization. We will deal with this 'Apocalypse' and his remaining Heralds."

Rogers looked from Nox to the unconscious Volkov, then to the other two golden-eyed titans who were already securing the area with chilling efficiency. "Who sent you? Who are you?"

"We are simply those who have the power to act when others cannot," Nox replied enigmatically, echoing a phrase Elias had carefully crafted. "Rest, Captain. This battle is far from over. And humanity will need its champions... in all their forms."

With that, a cloaked Blackwood transport, appearing as if from nowhere, descended, and the three Legionnaires, along with the unconscious Volkov, were rapidly extracted, vanishing as quickly and mysteriously as they had arrived, leaving a bewildered Captain America, a stunned Peggy Carter (who had just arrived with an SSR recovery team), and a burning, devastated Washington D.C. in their wake.

Elias Thorne had just made his most public move yet. He hadn't declared himself emperor, but he had unveiled his Praetorians, positioned them as humanity's anonymous saviors against a threat beyond comprehension. The world would be terrified, yes. But they would also be... grateful. And in that gratitude, in that fear, Elias would find the fertile ground for his New World Order to truly take root. The age of hidden powers was ending. The age of open, contested, superhuman dominion was dawning. And his Legion was at its fiery, golden vanguard.

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